Ruskin, Garner pull out win over East Newton

In crunch time the one person that Kansas City Ruskin wanted to get the ball did.

Cody Thorn

In crunch time the one person that Kansas City Ruskin wanted to get the ball did.

That turned out to be the difference in the final minute, and the Golden Eagles stopped an upset attempt by upstart East Newton.

Ruskin, hitting free throws down the stretch, pulled out a 66-61 victory over the previously unbeaten Patriots in the quarterfinals of the Neosho Holiday Basketball Tournament Thursday afternoon. The Patriots did have a great chance to upset the defending champions of the tournament, but Ruskin found a way at the end to secure the win.

“I was very proud of our effort,” said East Newton coach Todd Dana.

Ruskin (7-2) led 53-47 going into the fourth quarter, but quickly cut the deficit down to a one-possession game. Jon Ringstaff scored on a bucket inside the paint with 5:12 to play to make it 55-52.

A few moments later Danny Farmer hit a layup and drew the foul to make it 57-55.

East Newton (10-1) got a turnover, but missed a shot in the lane.

Ruskin — ranked No. 7 in the Class 4 polls — got the rebound and ended up on the free throw line with 3:04 to play. Demetrius Henderson knocked down one of the two shots to make it a 58-55 game.

Again, East Newton — still in a one possession game — couldn’t get a basket when it needed to.

Henderson scored on a layup and Milton Garner got a steal and a basket and just like that the Golden Eagles — the defending Missouri Class 4 champions — led 62-55.

“It was real important that we never allowed them to tie the score, which kept their crowd out of it a bit,” said Ruskin coach Gerry Marlin. “They would’ve gone crazy if they had tied it up. We made the crucial buckets and I think we did a good job of clock management. We got the shots that we wanted.”

Garner added four free throw conversions over the final 30 seconds to help the team secure the win.

“East Newton is a real good team, and they are strong where we are weak,” said Marlin. “They have great post play and we don’t have any post players. We want the game to hinge on guard play and we were able to do that. Our guards were real strong with the ball and steady and we didn’t turn it over.”

Garner, the tournament MVP last year, scored 12 points in the second half to finish with 24 points.

“What a solid game, we had him for 23 points, seven assists, six steals and five rebounds … just a very solid game,” said Marlin of Garner.